TIPS: No More Static Cling! - How To

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TIPS: No More Static Cling! - How To (HEALTH, HINTS, HOUSEHOLD)

No More Static Cling! - How To

By Annie B. Bond, author of Better Basics for the Home (Three Rivers

Press, 1999).

Simple Solution

There is only one reason why fabric softeners and dryer sheets are added

to the washing machine or dryer: to eliminate static cling!

But commercial fabric softeners can make you sick. According to a study

by Anderson Laboratories, many commercial formulas emit chemical fumes

like toluene, styrene and phenol that can cause acute respiratory tract

inflammation and irritation.

But what to do when dry winter air makes static-laden skirts scrunch and

bunch, and pants creep up to your knees?

Learn the easy all-natural ways to banish static cling from your

laundry, including the fabulous metal hanger trick that you can use on

already-clean clothes!

1. Add either of these cling-busting additions to your laundry wash cycle:

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup or less borax

2. Add 1/4 cup vinegar to the rinse cycle.

3. Switch to a "green" fabric softener, like those made by Seventh

Generation or Ecover, made with vegetable-based surfactants, salt, and

natural scents.

4. Choose clothing made from natural fibers; they don’t get static cling

as readily.

5. Shake out your clothes when you remove them from the drier.

6. The metal hanger trick for already-clean clothes: Put on the garment.

If it is a skirt or dress, simply reach up underneath it with a metal

hanger and brush the inside of the garment with it, top to bottom. If

it’s pants, elongate the hanger and reach up inside each pant leg,

brushing downward.

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/1150

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Fabric Softeners

by Annie Berthold-Bond, Care2.com

The smell of fabric softeners is on the minds of many Americans, or so I

assume from the volume of email I receive on the subject. Many are

frantic to get the smell out of their driers, others out of their

clothes, and most want alternatives.

A recent study from Anderson Laboratories gives a clue as to why this

particular household product has become a bee in so many people’s

bonnets. Here are the details:

Anderson Laboratories’ chemical analysis of the airborne emissions of

five different kinds of commonly available fabric softeners was reported

in the May, 2000 issue of The Journal of Toxicology and Environmental

Health. Their study revealed that the fabric softeners emitted toluene,

styrene, phenol, thymol, xylene, and trimethylbenzene, among other

chemicals, many of which cause acute respiratory tract irritation and

inflammation.

What You Can Do

Fabric softeners are static cling busters; that is their main function.

They reduce static cling by coating fabric with a waxy film that fluffs

up clothes and changes the negative electrical charge from the detergent.

Interestingly, natural fabrics don’t develop static the way synthetics

do, so step-by-step switching to all natural fabrics such as organic

cotton sheets will help. You can also shake out the clothes to reduce

the static. Fortunately, "green" fabric softeners are now on the market

from brands such as Seventh Generation and Ecover, that are made of

vegetable-based surfactants, salt, and natural ingredients for scent.

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/consumer_guides/198

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Fabric softeners

Respiratory toxicity of fabric softener emissions.

Rosalind Anderson Ph.D. and Julius Anderson M.D.-Ph.D.

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health,

Part A, 60:124-136, 2000.

Fabric softeners pads and liquids contain chemicals which decrease

static cling after drying modern fabrics. One of our dear friends lives

just above the laundry room in her apartment building. Whenever a

neighbor uses the dryer (and they all add fabric softeners to their

laundry) she develops dizziness, shortness of breath, and confusion.

Could it be that the fabric softener chemicals have toxic effects?

Under carefully controlled laboratory conditions, we exposed groups of

laboratory mice to air containing the fumes released by several types of

fabric softener pads. The mice exposed to these fumes showed irritation

of eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. Some developed severe asthma-like

attacks. The data demonstrate that some fabric softener pads release

toxic (poisonous) chemicals into the air. A tee-shirt dried once with a

fabric softener also released toxic chemicals as demonstrated by our mice.

http://www.andersonlaboratories.com/

 

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.~ Albert Einstein ~

 

 

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